4/29/10

FOX News seems to believe they've discovered some lefty hypocrisy in our concern over Arizona's immigration law. Turns out that people who are all up in arms about protecting illegal immigrants don't seem to be all that interested in protecting illegal immigrants. They're boycotting Arizona, but they aren't sending out engraved invitations to undocumented people.

They may call themselves "sanctuary cities," but very few of them are offering sanctuary to the illegal immigrants in Arizona who now face possible arrest and deportation.

As San Francisco and other "sanctuary cities" declare war on Arizona over its new law cracking down on illegal immigrants, most state and local governments that provide a safe haven to undocumented workers refused to publicly roll out a welcome mat for the estimated 440,000 illegals in the Grand Canyon state.

It's been said that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. Unfortunately for the visually impaired squirrels at FOX, this isn't one of those once-in-a-whiles.

First off -- and probably least important -- is that the term "sanctuary city" is probably misleading. A sanctuary city is one that won't assist federal immigration authorities without a warrant and won't enforce immigration laws on its own. According to a 2008 press release from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's office, "The Sanctuary Ordinance helps to maintain the stability of San Francisco communities. It keeps communities safe by making sure all residents feel comfortable calling the Police and Fire Departments during emergencies. It keeps families and workforce healthy by providing safe access to schools, clinics and other City services."

"As a Sanctuary City, San Francisco has and will continue to provide compassionate services to all immigrants, regardless of status," the release quotes city supervisor Tom Ammiano as saying. "When certain people are targeted and denied access to vital social services, the health and safety of the entire city is compromised."

So contagious people get treatment, fires get put out, crime gets reported -- all because people aren't afraid to call 911. Those screwy San Francisco hippies and their concern for their own city's welfare. What'll they come up with next?

But second and more importantly, the outrage of civil libertarians over Arizona's new law isn't about "protecting illegal aliens," as FOX's story seems to be suggesting. It's about the civil liberties of American citizens. Arizona has justice bass-ackward here; if police suspect you're committing a crime, you have to prove you're not. This just isn't the way America works. And, while supporters of the law argue that it isn't about racial profiling, I have my doubts that blond-haired, blue-eyed Bobby Whitebread is going to be asked to produce his birth certificate any time soon.

"SB 1070 does nothing short of making all of Arizona's Latino residents, and other presumed immigrants, potential criminal suspects in the eyes of the law," reports Vivek Malhotra for the American Civil Liberties Union. "It authorizes police officers to stop and ask people for their immigration papers based only on some undefined 'reasonable suspicion' that they are in the country illegally. Given that Latinos comprise an estimated 30 percent of Arizona's population, the law presents a pretty big target."

Vivek describes Arizona as a soon-to-be "police state" and he's not exaggerating. Even before Arizona passed this bill, law enforcement in that state were violating the civil rights of American citizens.

On the morning of February 11, 2009, Julian Mora was driving to his place of work in southern Phoenix, accompanied by his teenaged son, Julio Mora. Julian Mora was taking his usual route and obeying all laws when a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office ("MCSO") vehicle suddenly cut in front of him, forcing him to stop abruptly. Without any legal justification, MCSO deputies ordered Julian and Julio Mora out of their pickup truck, frisked them, and handcuffed them. The deputies then transported the Moras to Julian Mora's workplace where MCSO was in the process of conducting an immigration related raid. Over the course of the next three hours, MCSO deputies detained the Moras, forbade them from any contact with the outside world, and subjected them to painful and humiliating mistreatment resulting in emotional distress and injury. The Moras were effectively taken prisoner by armed MCSO personnel without any explanation for their arrest.

The Moras are American citizens who were picked up because they were Hispanics in the vicinity of an immigration raid. If that's not racial profiling, I'd like to know what is. New flash for FOX and other right wing idiots: I'm not mad because police were mean to illegal immigrants, I'm mad because police violated the civil rights of American citizens.

Now, if San Francisco and other sanctuary cities don't want to roll out the red carpet for illegal aliens, who can blame them? It's not what being a sanctuary city is about anyway. And the fact that San Francisco is boycotting Arizona doesn't mean that the city is trying to protect undocumented people -- it means they're trying to protect Americans.

Any random set on FOX News looks like Uncle Sam threw up all over it after going on a stars and stripes bender. They wear what they like to call their "patriotism" on their sleeve. But the fact that they don't care about American citizens in Arizona -- and further, go out of their way to ridicule those of us who do -- shows that this "patriotism" of theirs is as phony as the hypocrisy they want you to believe they've found at the Golden Gate.